I read an interestingly philosophical and nerdy joke the other day. It warned the reader not to render the value of pi into binary. The consequences of doing this would potentially expose the doer to accusations of copyright infringement and intelligence theft. How could this be the case? Consider that all computers calculate, memorize and communicate in binary. This means that every piece of information exists (or could exist) in binary form. Pi, being an infinitely long number with non-repeating digits thus theoretically contains every conceivable combination of digits in any conceivable length. When converted to binary, a universal format for interpretation, the value of pi would then conceivably contain every piece of information known (and unknown) to man. Once rendered, it is simply a matter of knowing how many places one would have to calculate before they run into the binary code necessary to compile Windows 7 or the password to President Obama’s email account. As a concept, the joke is quite brilliant, as it goes far beyond the “infinite monkeys” theory and turns the focus from probability to certainty.
More importantly, the joke gives us a new way to look at the concept of infinity. From randomness: perspective. From infinity: certainty.
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